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Show 1890.] SOUTH-AMERICAN CANID.E. 105 C.griseus being reddish grey and C. entrerianus a rusty1 yellowish red. The long bristly hairs are black on tbe distal half and with a broad white ring lower down, which, however, is wanting in that of the end and dorsum of the tail and hindmost part of the back ; so that these parts are darker. Dorsum of muzzle, crown, and outside of ears reddish brown, but the hairs have white points which especially produce a light spot over each eye. Upper lip, chin, front of throat, breast, and inner side of limbs pure white. A sable transverse band across the upper part of the chest. Outside of limbs and behind the ears pale rusty-yellow. Soles of the feet reddish. A transverse rusty-brown stripe above the heel, becoming black on the bend of the knee. Underjaw and middle of chin also black. Ears whitish yellow within ; nose black. Ears without, pale brown. The skull is said to be much like that of his C. griseus but somewhat shorter, especially the facial portion. The frontal region broader. Burmeister says much here and elsewhere about the precise development of the postorbital processes ; but these parts I have found to vary much in skulls of undoubtedly the same species. The dentition is said to agree with that of C. griseus, except that all its parts are shorter. Length of upper fourth premolar 12 ; length of the two upper molars 14, or as 100: 116. These characters seem to me to be in so many respects intermediate between C. azarce and his C. griseus, that bearing in mind the, to me, unsatisfactory character of his species C. griseus and C. entrerianus, I cannot feel satisfied as to its specific distinctness. I fully concede, of course, that it may be a good species, but I would provisionally regard it as another local variety (from the neighbourhood of Mendoza) of C. azarce. M y distrust of Burmeister's specific determinations reposes in part on considerations derived from the two following forms:- These are his (7) Canis vetulus and (8) C.fulvicaudus. Both these names were proposed by Lund for forms described by him (Blik paa Brasiliens Dyreverden, femte Afhandling (Copenhagen, 1843), pp. 20-31, pis. xl. and xiii.). They were differentiated by him as follows :- C. vetulus. C. fulvicaudus. Body and limbs slender; above Body and limbs somewhat light ashy grey. Limbs below slender ; above whitish grey. isabel-yellow ; end of the tail Limbs below brownish yellow ; and a fourth of its length black. end of the tail and a patch upon its dorsum yellowish red. A patch of ochre-yellow behind the ear. These distinctive characters seem to me to depend almost entirely on the tail, and when I reflect how I have found species of Canidce described as having a black end to the tail, with a white end and 1 But in describing C. entrerianus he says " rothlich gelbbraun " and not " rostgelbroth," as in his reference to it here. |